On September 20, 2011, Disney XD announced the series had been renewed for a second season.[1][2] The show's second season premiered on April 2, 2012.[3] Disney XD announced on November 5, 2012 that the series had been renewed for a third season and would go into production in January 2013.[4] The third season premiered on April 1, 2013. Alex Christian Jones was not a main cast member for the third season. In August 2013, Disney XD ordered a fourth season of the series, scheduled to air in 2014, making it the first Disney XD Original Series to go past 3 seasons. Olivia Holt left the fourth season cast to star in the Disney Channel series I Didn't Do It. The fourth and final[5] season premiered on February 17, 2014.[6] The final episode of the series aired March 25, 2015.

Contents

Located in a strip mall, the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy is known as the worst dojo in the under-performing nationwide Bobby Wasabi chain. To improve the dojo's image, a tight knit crew of underdogs enlists new kid Jack to join and help teach them about life, karate and friendship. All the members of the dojo follow the Wasabi code: "We swear by the light of the dragon's eye, to be loyal and honest and never say die. Wasabi!" There are always two to three story lines. The main one teaches a lesson and the others are for comic relief.[7]

The series was created by Emmy nominated producer, Jim O'Doherty who started his career as a sitcom writer and producer for the television comedies 3rd Rock from the Sun, Grounded for Life, and The Tracy Morgan Show.[8]Kickin' It is said to be inspired by O'Doherty's childhood growing up on Long Island, New York where he earned a green belt in martial arts, but was forced to end his training when his local dojo closed down and was turned into a veterinary clinic.[8] This childhood connection to martial arts, combined with three of his daughters' interest in karate, laid the foundation for the premise of the series.[8]

The pilot episode of Kickin' It was filmed in August 2010 and in November 2010, Disney XD announced it had green-lit the series (then known as Wasabi Warriors) and filming would begin in January 2011.[16][17] With the announcement of the series, Disney Channel CEO, Gary Marsh commented on the groundbreaking martial arts sitcom formula, saying: "By weaving martial arts into the fabric of a traditional situation comedy, we've created a completely unique sitcom form. Plus, by pairing our star Leo Howard — a real life black-belt martial artist — with a brilliant comedian like Jason Earles, we've tipped the scales towards success."[18]

The series's premiere of Kickin' It garnered approximately 873,000 viewers, which made it the highest-rated series premiere in Disney XD's history (including the network's former incarnation as Toon Disney), followed by I'm in the Band's premiere which garnered 863,000 viewers.[21] The premiere scored 578,000 viewers among children 6-14 and 393,000 among teens 9-14, and was Disney XD's number one live-action series premiere of all time among Kids 6-11 (431,000).[21] In the United Kingdom the first episode delivered 88,000 viewers and the second one delivered 62,000 viewers.[22]